We have a feeling we’ll hear something similar involving Clash of Clans gamers real soon.
It is undeniable that technology has helped the human race in ways we couldn’t even have imagined it would half a century ago.
But the increasing dependency of humans on technology is taking its toll on the very thing that makes humans, humans. Their fragile health. Sadly, most tech savvy individuals of today take this for granted, and usually until when it’s already too late. What’s even more depressing is the fact that often times these health issues arise from relatively unimportant things that humans do.
Like gaming.
A Candy Crush addict from California injured his thumb while playing the highly addictive game non-stop, and didn’t even realize that he did until two weeks later.
According to a report by the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, the 29-year-old Candy Crush devotee injured his tendon after playing his favorite game daily, for countless hours, non-stop, for six to eight weeks.
Doctors who attended to the gaming addict were astounded by the fact that he did not feel any pain brought about by his injured tendon, which they explained was likely due to the immense amount of concentration he was pouring over his gameplay.
One of the co-authors of the case report, Dr. Andrew Doan, said that gaming addictions can actually be ‘digital painkillers’.
“We need to be aware that certain video games can act like digital painkillers,” he said.
The unidentified gamer, who just recently left the military, is said to have been using his left thumb for his fierce Candy Crush Saga-playing, and his right one for all other things.
Doctors discovered that he had broken the tendon on his left thumb after he was asked to undergo an MRI examination.
They now need to get him into surgery to have his ruptured tendon fixed; but it is still unclear what prompted the injured Candy Crusher to seek medical attention.
Doctors suggest that the brightly-colored candies in the highly addictive game may have played a role in reducing the pain brought about by the gamer’s ruptured tendon.
In an interview with LiveScience, Dr. Doan told: “This may lead to reduced perceptions of pain, but it may also play a role in the addictive nature of video games.”
Candy Crush is one of the world’s most downloaded games, with over 500 million downloads since the time it was launched in the year 2012.
As to how many of the over 500 million Candy Crushers have already injured their thumbs from playing the addictive game… Still remains to be seen.
Whaaat?! Poor guy. Also, the larger phones, Galaxy Tab’s, and the like are leading to a rise de Quervain’s Syndrome (tendon pain associated with the thumb) from holding the tablets for hours on end. I blame people who feel the need to hold the tablet as a book, or portrait. They should be held like a Gameboy or a newspaper.
Candy crush is all kinds of evil anyways. The idea of the game was copied from a game exactly the same that had something to do with a dying, now dead kid and the kid’s dying wish or something. The microtransactions in it are rampant and I don’t see why anyone would voluntarily play it. Almost all mobile games are the same too.
Yeah, their micro transactions are kind of sluggish to begin with, but you’ve got to admit Candy Crush is an addictive game. I’ve downloaded it one day out of pure boredom and it stick to me like glue to the paper. I can also proudly say I resisted in making any purchases, I’d rather have a real lollipop than a virtual one, that’s for sure!